CONSUMER RIGHTS
Weight and watch

When taking delivery of a cooking gas cylinder, make sure that it is not underweight,
writes Pushpa Girimaji

It’s a shame that the courts have to intervene to ensure that public sector oil companies supply the right quantity of cooking gas to the consumers. In response to a complaint filed by the Consumer Protection Council, a Rourkela-based consumer group, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, recently issued an interim order directing the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to ensure that all deliverymen are provided with weighing scales so that the cylinders are weighed at the doorstep of the customer at the time of delivery.

Referring to an advertisement issued by Hindustan Petroleum, the apex consumer court also directed the IOC to issue similar advertisements informing consumers about the availability of weighing machines with the deliverymen.

The consumer group had filed a complaint in 2001 seeking directions to the IOC to make certain changes in its bottling plant there to ensure that correct quantity of gas was filled in each cylinder.

The oil company had, however, contested the allegations in the complaint. The case is still being heard, but in the meanwhile, to protect consumer interest, the court issued this interim order.

Raids by the Department of Weights and Measures on two bottling plants of the IOC at Tikri Kalan and Madanpur Khadar in Delhi revealed that while at Tikri Kalan, eight of the 32 cylinders checked were found to be underweight, in Madanpur Khadar, 17 of the 32 cylinders were found underweight. The cooking gas in these cylinders was short by one to 3.2 kg. A fine of Rs 90,000 was slapped on the company. The Delhi Government said it would conduct similar checks on the bottling plants of the other two oil companies — the HPCL and the BPCL.

So the next time you buy your cooking gas, make sure that the delivery man brings along a weighing machine and weighs the cylinder at your doorstep and that the cylinder carries all of 14.2 kg of the cooking gas.

If the quantity of gas is not what is promised, refuse to take it, but be sure to complain to the Department of Weights and Measures. Whenever you come across an underweight cylinder, specify the shortage on a paper and get the deliveryman to sign it. You can even have a neighbour or friend to sign it as witness.

This way, even if you return the underweight cylinder, you can still forward a complaint about the cylinder and pursue the complaint with both the oil company and the Department of Weights and Measures.

Never allow an underweight cylinder to be taken back by the dealer without registering the fact that it was underweight and by how much.

Residents’ associations should visit the cylinder godowns of oil companies in the area at regular intervals and check the weights of cylinders there.

This will not only force the oil companies and LPG dealers to ensure that the weight of the gas in the cylinders is accurate, but also activate the Department of Weights and Measures to conduct regular checks.

Besides, there could be the pilferage of gas during the transportation of cylinders from the plant to the distributors’ godown or during transportation to the customer’s premises.

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